READING

STRATEGIES

Wan Raihan Wan Shaaidi

 In any academic studies
Messages good
about reading
what you skills
see, are very
Hey, I think we should
important.
hear, smell, touch or taste
give each other some
time to figure out our
relationship.
Every minute, your brain is busy making sense of thing
that the
is happening around
brain received you.
these
messages, interpret, sort and
saves them.????????
 When new information arrives, brain looks for some
connection to the information that already stored somewhere
in your mind.

Hobby

Academic

Not register in your brain

If there is a connection the new information becomes part of
a network and is saved in your long term memory.

Hobby
When it does not find a connection, the information will be
forgotten and lost.

Academic

Save LONG TERM MEMORY

 Same goes with reading. While reading, your brain
instructs your eyes on what to look for in order to form
connections. When the material is intriguing or
significant to you, the connection appears to happen by
itself at times.
Exercise 1: Look at the list of art exhibits below.
Will you be able to see the exhibition of
Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing in February?
Did you read the whole list of exhibitions to find out?

No! You knew what to look for. You scanned the list
to find the information that you needed.
Exercise 2: Scanning an article. You are doing a report on
Mat Kilau and you have an article about him on the website.
1. Who
Scan is Matfor
the article Kilau among the the
Malay people?
answers to the questions below. Work
quickly!
2. Name the three warriors that fought together with Mat Kilau?3. Why
Mat Kill opposed to British occupation?
4. When was Mat Kilau born?
5. Who was the British alliance to fight with Mat Kilau?
6. In paragraph II, what did the British declare on Pahang
nobilities?
7. Name three resistance leaders that strongly support Mat
Kilau?
8. Where is Mat Kilau hometown as stated in paragraph III?
9. How many nickname does Mat Kilau has?
10.Is the accusation that Mat Kilau is dead true? What actually
happened?
 The Real Mat Kilau, From Nobility To Living As A Recluse, And Almost A Tan Sri
Widely seen as a patriot and national folk hero, Mat Kilau has evolved into a paragon of
bravery and loyalty in Malay culture. Mat Kilau is recognised as one of the most prominent
Malay warriors who stood up against British colonialism in Pahang at the end of the 19th
century.
He fought alongside his father, Tok Gajah (Imam Rasu), and other Pahang warriors such as
Dato’ Bahaman and Mat Kelubi. One of the main reasons they opposed the British
occupation of Pahang was the latter’s interference in its government. Mat Kilau is a native of
Kampung Pulau Tawar in Jerantut, Pahang, who is said to have been born around 1848. He
and his followers have fought several times with the British and Siamese troops around the
states of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.
Rebel With A Cause
The struggle started around the 1890s, when the people in Pahang were
revolting. They were angry with the British who, like a lion opening its
mouth, took over the task of collecting taxes and revenue from the appointed
head of state. Following the incident, the British declared war on several
Pahang nobilities and ordered their arrest and punishment. However, Mat
Kilau and several other resistance leaders managed to escape and spread the
spirit of nationalism against the British in the neighbouring states of
Kelantan and Terengganu. Mat Kilau’s struggle received strong support from
two well-known figures in both states, namely the famous scholars of
Terengganu, Tokku Paloh and Abdul Rahman Limbong and Hassan
Munas (nicknamed Tok Janggut)  in Kelantan. Around 1895, he was
reported missing and allegedly killed on the Kelantan-Siam border. His
‘body’ was ‘buried’ in Kampung Bunut Payung, Kota Bharu, Kelantan in
1895. That was only the end of the beginning.
An Entire Nation Surprised
On 26 December 1969, the country was shocked by the appearance of
an older man. He announced that he was Mat Kilau in a mosque in
Kampung Pulau Tawar in his own hometown, after Friday prayers. Prior
to that, the man was known to the villagers as Mat Siam. Besides using the
name Muhammad Ibrahim, he is also known as Mat Dahan, Mat Dadu,
Mat Teoh and Din.The revelation spread so quickly throughout the
country through the news in the press and got the attention of many
parties, including the federal government and the Pahang state government
itself. The Pahang Menteri Besar Pahang at that time, Tan Sri Yahya
Mohd. Seth and his entourage visited the man at his home.
Seeing Is Believing
At first, most local scholars and historians doubted Mat Siam’s claim as
there was no concrete evidence. However, they have not flatly rejected the
allegations. Prof. Syed Hussein Alatas suggested that the individual be
awarded the rank of Tan Sri if the committee’s investigation confirmed
that he was Mat Kilau. The award is recognition for his outstanding
service in fighting for the country’s independence. But what about the
reports of colonial officials and newspapers in 1895 that reported that Mat
Kilau had been killed and had been buried in Bunut Payung, Kelantan?
The committee noted that Mat Siam had previously told his
immediate family members that he had been arrested and beaten by the
Siamese army until he fainted but did not die. His ‘body’ was then handed
over to the then Sultan of Kelantan for his funeral arrangements. However,
it was found that Mat Kilau was not yet dead after he regained
consciousness.
 Distinguishing Main Ideas from Supporting Details

The central thought of the text or a paragraph is

known as the main idea.

It is the main issue the author is trying to tell the reader. The main
idea in a topic sentence can be found:

at the beginning of the in the middle of the text

text or

at the end of the text

 Drawing Conclusions

A conclusion is a resolution or judgement made by the author based on

the facts or information provided in the text.

Signal words such as:

Therefore
Thus Hence In conclusion

To conclude Finally As a result

 An inference is a reasonable guess based Making Inferences
on evidence or facts provided in the text.

The reader can make an educated guess about something based on:

facts opinions experiences

observations descriptions
 Summarising

Is a brief and concise statement which emphasises the main ideas

of a reading text.

A summary restates

an idea phrase

by using fewer words, phrases or expressions, but maintaining

the original meaning of the text.
 Deriving Meaning from Context

Figuring out the meaning of certain words based on the

clues given in the text.

Such clues can be found

1. Before the word, phrase or expression.

2. After the word, phrase or expression.

 Some of the contextual clues included:

synonyms examples

antonyms

definitions restatement

affixes
 Distinguishing Facts from Opinions

Fact is the truth or a hypothesis proven to be true by experiments or

observations.

Opinion is a personal belief, feeling or evaluation which is to

proven.
 Which of the following statements are FACTS and which are
OPINIONS?

1. Through reading, one can enhance their

knowledge. FACT

2. As far as I can see, the increment of the

price is due to the import taxation policy. OPINION

3. I am sure if children are not given the

opportunity to socialise during their formative
years, they will face difficulty in communicating OPINION
when they are adults.
 Reading Critically to Ascertain Purpose, Tone and Attitude

Through critically reading, it allows the reader to deduce how the author
feels about the issues presented and why he is presenting them.

Emotive
The words
tone of the are seldom
text indicates used in attitude
the author’s texts such as reports
towards or
the subject.
extracts from scientific journals as these texts present
Emotive words in the textconcrete facts.
can assist you to understand or draw
Emotive
conclusions aboutwords are often
the author’s used in
feelings articles
about or texts
his/her where
subject matter.
the author is trying to persuade the reader to support
his/her point of view.
 Examples of emotive words:

frantic
overjoyed
heroic

vulnerable
overwhelmed
helpless
Practice 4: Inferencing/Conclusion/Organisation of Passage

1. The writer develops her ideas through

A anecdotes and illustrations
B comparison and contrast
C hypothesis and evidence
D Chronological sequence

2. From the text we can conclude that diamonds

A are molecularly different from carbon
B have lots of packed carbon atoms
C are a form of carbon
D contain lead
Practice 2: Inferencing/Conclusion/Organisation of Passage

1. The writer develops his ideas through

A time order
B bias opinion
C logical reasoning
D factual description

2. We can infer from the passage that the bamboo is

A stretchy
B rubbery
C flexible
D elastic
Practice 3: Inferencing/Conclusion/Organisation of Passage

1. The writer develops his ideas through

A cause and effect
B problems and solution
C illustration and example
D comparison and contrast

2. We can conclude from the extract above that email is

A a versatile method of communication
B extremely vulnerable to misinterpretation
C ideally suited to dealing with complex situations
D vital to the development of communication networks
 Practice 5: Inferencing/Conclusion/Organisation of Passage

1. The writer develops the paragraph through

A cause and effect
B chronological sequence
C comparison and contrast
D examples and explanations

2. From the paragraph we can conclude that

A countries that have adequate rainfall require cloud seeding
B there are insufficient number of ice crystals in all cloud formations
C silver iodide particles trigger the formation of water vapour and clouds
D cloud seeding is crucial to countries that have dry weather conditions
Practice 6: HEALTH

1. Green juice is really worth 2. Green juice is famous for

the price and hype. nutritional posturing.
A True A True
B False B False
C Not stated C Not stated

3. Green juice is much better 4. Green juice is better than

choice than a sports fruity concoctions because it
drink. contains
A True A less sugar
B False B more fiber
C Not stated C more nutrients
 5. According to the passage, green juice does not
A reduce LDL cholesterol
B flush out toxins in the body
C increase sugar in the bloodstream

6. ‘…should be wary of juicing’ (line 15). This implies that juicing

A can lead to kidney failure
B increases the risk of diabetes
C increases oxalate in the body

7. In the last paragraph, the author concludes that

A it is better to drink more juices
B green juice does more harm than good
C most people are not eating enough vegetables
Practice 6: SOCIOCULTURAL

1. Technological development has had minimal influence on the

development of human history.
A True B False C Not stated

2. Modern technology has changed the way people live and work.
A True B False C Not stated

3. Most employers require their employees to be physically present at

their workplace.
A True B False C Not stated
4. Many professionals prefer to use their personal electronic devices for
work.
A True B False C Not stated

5. Figure 1 indicates that there was an increase in technology usage for all
age groups in 2013.
A True B False C Not stated

6. According to Figure 1, the youngest working professionals are the

heaviest users of technological devices.
A True B False C Not stated

7. It can be concluded that working professionals of all age groups rely heavily upon
technology for better business and career opportunities because they do not want to be
limited by their environment.
A True B False C Not stated
Let’s Call it
Day